Spray tube attachment for dental instruments



Feb. 20, 1 945. L. BAILENSON SPRAY TUBE ATTACHMENT FOR DENTAL INSTRUMENTS Filed Sept. 1, 1943 IM EN TOR 11 2; "UL c/za Patented Feb. 20, 1945 SPRAY TUBEATTACHMENT FOR DENTAL j I INSTRUMENTS I Louis Bailenson, Brooklyn, N. Y. I Application September 1, 1943, Serial No. 500,796

1 Claim. (o1. 32-428) This invention relates to a device for use in dentistry, and particularly to'means for attaching a spray'tube to both a dental contra-angle and a hand-piece.

It is recognized by th dental profession that the use of a' spray tube for applying. warm air or 'water to a tooth during drilling or grinding operations is beneficial in preventing the danger of overheating and, in consequence thereof, reducing or entirely eliminating pain ordinarily suffered by the patient. I

The need for cooling teeth while being drilled has increased as the speed of dental engines has tary movement of the sleeveabout the axis of the'hand-piece.

The invention will be more fully understood by reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, and in which drawing, i I

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a portion of adental hand-piece having a contra-angle secured thereto, and with an embodiment of this invenincreased, and the present need ismanifold-because of the current shortage of burrs whichentails longer use of dull burrs with increased generation of heat. The present situation has also resulted in the more generaluse of diamond drills which out faster and produce still more heat.

Heretofore many spray devices designed for this purpose hav been more'or less cumbersome,

and because of a tendency to interfere with the skillful use of thedental instrument to which they are often inappropriately applied, have not come.

into general use.

It is an object of this invention to-provide a device of this character which is firmly supported on adental instrument in a novel manner at only plied by thedentist, and shifted or removed for cleansing purposes.

Further objects of the-invention are hereinafter set forth.

The embodiments shown and .describedherein are respectively applicable with ,substantially equal facility'to either the contra-angle attach- I ment or the, hand-piece itself of the dental unit. In the first instance. a supporting bracket is integrally formed on the burr latch. and when the latter is snapped into position to lock the burr .tion applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the outer left end of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the burr. latch showing the integrally formed bracket with the spray tube attached thereto. v

Fig. 4 is a modified form of the invention show: i

' ing=the non-rotatable means for attaching the spray tube to. a dental hand-piece,- and,

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 4, but indicating the attaching means for the spray tube in section.

Referring now in detail to the drawing. the forward end of a dental hand-piece I0 is shown in Fig. 1 having the usual stud I I projecting from the periphery of a part l2 which is of reduced diameter so that a'contra-angle It! may he slipped in place, the spray tube carried by it is positively supported against accidental displacement axially of the dental instrument. In the second instance.

the spray tube is secured to a sleeve fitting snugly over the outer end of thehand piece in a manner similar to which the contraeangle is secured. there being a notch inthe inner edge of the sleeve for hand-piece, and which structure also serves in engagement with the usual mounting stud of the I over it and be firmly held in place against axial rotation by engagement with the'said stud. Provision is made for the mounting of a burr I3 at the outer end of the contra-angle which is driven by meansof internal connections not shown. The burr I3 is prevented from movement downwardly by a burr latch 14 which is pivotally secured to the top of the contra-angle by a screw IS. The outer end of the burr latch is notched on one side at l6 for engagement with a groove at the top of the shank of the burr when the latch I4 is moved from the position shown in dot and dash lines in Fig. 2 to the full line position indicated.

The present invention contemplates the use of the burr latch H' for the support of a spray tube I! on the contra-angle. For this purpose there isprovided a bracket 18 which in thi instance is shown as forming an integral part of the latch, ofi'set therefrom and curving outwardly and downwardly so as to closely extend around the I adjacent contour of the contra-angle. The lower end of the bracket l8 may be formed with an eye l8' through which the spray tube I1 may be threaded, or the latter may be simply soldered to the bracket as will be understood. The other end of the burr latch is provided with the usual thumb tip 20 which is bowed transversely to snap over the rounded top of the contra-angle, as

this instance to positively prevent accidental ro- Shown n ig- 1, and thus pr v n ular disso that the removal of the latch for a more thorough cleaning i a matter of infrequent occurrence.

The outer end of the spray tube I1 is curved downwardly to provide a nozzle 22 terminating close to the shank of the burr l3, and directed toward the lower end thereof. The other end of the spray tube extends beyond the bracket l8, and a hose 23 of suitable length may be slipped over the same, and the opposite end of the hose over any one of the various nozzles oi the dental unit as may be desired, such, for example, as the chip blower nozzle 24 shown in Fig. l, or thewarm water syringe, or the spraybottle, etc.

It will now be apparent that because the burr latch is manually movable and removable, and

yet positively held in position against axial displacement by reason of the spring-like gripping of the thumb tip 20, it provides a desirable means of support for attaching a spray tube to a contraangle. And furthermore, that the location of such supporting means is both out of the line of vision of the operating dentist, and free of any interference with the pen-hold position of the hand used particularly for delicate work.

Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, the burr I3 is shown mounted directly in the -hand-piece instead of in the contra-angle, which latter is removed when not needed for its special purpose. In this form of the invention there is a modified spray tube I1 and a modified support consisting of a sleeve 25 dimensioned internally to fit snugly over the part l2 of the hand-piece I0, and so as to abut the usual shoulder 26 on the hand-piece. The inner edge of the sleeve 25 is notched at 21 for engagement with the stud H, and diametrically opposite to-the notch a spray tube I1 is suitably secured to the sleeve, as by solder. The nozzle end 22' of the tube ll' extends partly alongside of the burr l3 and is inclined inwardly so as to beat an acute angle to the axis of the hand-piece, and to be directed toward the outer or cutting end of the burr. The other end of the tube l'l' extending beyond the inner or notched end of the sleeve, is inclined away from the handpiece for the convenient application of the hose 23 which may then be operatively connected in the manner above described.

It will now be apparent that in this form of the invention the spray tube l1 may also be positively and firmly attached to the hand-piece at one point of location with provision for positively preventing rotary movement of the supporting set forth.

fore always remain in a fixed relative position beneath the burr when the hand-piece is held bythe dentist in an operating position. The sleeve 25 may nevertheless be quickly removed when desired without the use of tools.

In either form of the invention the simple attachments illustrated are inexpensive. to manufacture, and may be easily installed by the dentist himself. They are more sanitary than if rigidly attached because of the then added difiiculty of removing accumulations of dust and other debris.

Various modifications within the scope of the appended claim may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

A spray tube attachment for a dental contraangle comprising a burr latch member adapted to be pivotally secured to said contra-angle, and operable to engage and hold the shank of a burr carried by the contra-angle, a bracket member extending from an edge of said burr latch member, and fashioned to substantially follow the adjacent contour of said contra-angle, and terminate at a point opposite and rearwardly of said burr, and a spray tube secured to said bra-cket'terminal, whereby when the burr latch member is actuated the spray tube will move with it toward or away from the burr for the purpose LOUIS BAILENSONL 

